Employers continued to shy away from the number of jobs they wanted to fill in October, the latest sign that the labor market is strong but gradually cooling.
On the last day of October, about 10.3 million job openings were open, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 10.7 million the month before. The vacancy rate in October was, seasonally adjusted, actually equal to the level in August.
Job cuts occurred across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, construction, professional and business services, and state and local government. Still, job vacancies in every sector remain above pre-pandemic levels, underlining continued strength in the labor market despite higher borrowing costs.
The Federal Reserve is trying to curb hiring in its efforts to curb inflation because it fears a hot labor market is forcing employers to raise wages, contributing to rising prices.
Other measures in the report — the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS — confirm the resilience of the labor market. There were about 1.7 jobs posted for every unemployed worker, still extraordinarily high by historical standards.
While layoffs in the technology industry have dominated headlines, the number of layoffs across the economy remained broadly unchanged in October at 1.4 million, low by historic standards, suggesting employers are hesitant to part with workers following the frenzy of the pandemic.
The number of workers who voluntarily quit their job – an indicator of workers’ confidence that they will find better job opportunities – fell only slightly.
But while the report generally pointed to continued high demand for workers, there were undeniable signs that the labor market was weakening.
There were four million cancellations in October, continuing the downward trend from last year’s “Great Resignation” peak.
“Today’s JOLTS report shows that the job market is gradually slowing down,” said Daniel Zhao, an economist at the career site Glassdoor. “And that’s consistent with what we’ve seen in other data as well.”
